Liverpool moved back to the top of the Premier League with a 2-1 win over Chelsea at Anfield.
Mohamed Salah opened the scoring for Liverpool against his former side from the penalty spot, after Curtis Jones was brought down inside the box by Levi Colwill. Salah slammed home the resulting kick for his fifth goal of the Premier League campaign.
Liverpool were awarded a second penalty in the closing stages of the first half when Robert Sanchez upended Jones, though VAR adjudged the Spaniard had made contact with the ball first.
Chelsea had chances in the opening period and got their reward for a positive performance three minutes after the break. Nicolas Jackson levelled the game after racing onto Moises Caicedo’s through ball.
Parity lasted just two minutes, however, when Jones restored Liverpool’s lead. A deep run from the midfielder caught out Chelsea’s defensive line and he steered past Sanchez after collecting Salah’s cross.
Liverpool were below their best, with Chelsea boasting 57% of the possession. Liverpool’s eight shots was also their lowest in a Premier League game since February 2021, though the Reds did create a higher xG than the visitors.
Chelsea, however, missed good chances to equalise late on. Renato Veiga headed the best effort over the bar, while Christoher Nkunku could not squeeze home from an acute angle in stoppage time.
Both teams can take encouragement from this game, with Liverpool grinding out a hard-fought win to move back to the top of the division. Chelsea, meanwhile, had enough chances to earn a result in a good litmus test of their progress under Enzo Maresca. The West Londoners sit sixth in the table after a second Premier League defeat of the season.
